Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke in defense of President Donald Trump on Sunday, saying he’s only receiving criticism for how he’s trying to strike peace between Ukraine and Russia because he’s a Republican.
Rubio shared his thoughts during an interview on ABC News’s “This Week.” Rubio not only backed his boss but went as far as to say he would receive global support if he was a member of the opposing party.
“Shouldn’t we all be happy that we have a president who’s trying to stop wars and prevent them instead of start them?” Rubio said. “I just don’t get it. I really don’t, other than the fact that it’s Donald J. Trump.”
“If this was a Democrat that was doing this, everyone would be saying, ‘Well, he’s on his way to the Nobel Peace Prize,’” Rubio added. “This is absurd.”
The Trump administration has taken a different approach in its attempts to end the war in Ukraine, a sharp change from how the previous administration attempted to reach peace. Rubio described former President Biden’s efforts as three years of name-calling Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We are trying to end a war,” Rubio said. “You cannot end a war unless both sides come to the table, starting with the Russians. And that, that is the point the president has made. And we have to do whatever we can to try to bring them to the table to see if it’s even possible.”
Still, many have criticized Trump over his involvement in trying to reach a peace deal. The president has gone as far as to blame Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the war while also referring to him as a “dictator.”
The two met, alongside Vice President JD Vance, last Friday. But after a fiery exchange in the Oval Office, the meeting ended early, and Zelensky departed before lunch.
The meeting was supposed to feature a signing of a deal between the U.S. and Ukraine that would see the country provide an estimated $500 billion in rare Earth minerals in exchange for support to close the door to the war.